Adapter wall



Aug. 26, 1969 R. K. MEYER 3,482,892

ADAPTER WLL Filed Jan. 22, 1968 w :s snees-sneet 1 I NV EN'TOR.

F|G 3 RoNALD K. MEYER W W f z'/ ATTO RN EY Aug. 26, 1969 Filed Jan. 22, 1968 R. K. MEYER t 3,462,892

ADAPTER WALL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RoNALD K. MEYER TTORNEY Aug. 26, 1969 R. K. MEYER ADAPTER WALL Filed Jan4 22 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,462,S92 ADAPTER WALL Ronald K. Meyer, 171 Minna St., San Francisco, Calif. 94105 Filed lan. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 699,585 int. Cl. E0411 14/00; E0416 /48; E0616 3/54 U.S. Cl. 52-28 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An adapter wall for covering a room wall having service outlets thereon, the adapter wall having a framework made up of horizontal and Vertical members adapted to be hung on the room Wall, a pair of spaced channel members interconnecting a pair of Vertical members, a service outlet console disposed between the channel members and fixed to the pair of Vertical members, panel means mounted on the framework about the service outlet console, and Conduit means connecting the wall outlets and console outlets.

Background of the nvention This invention relates to wall construction, and more particularly to an adapter wall which mounts on a room wall.

The nvention is herein described and illustraited as applied to a hospital room wall. As is well known, hospital rooms are under almost constant revision, this being necessary to keep up 'with the rapid advances in medicalcare techniques. These revisions entail physical changes in the structure of the room, i.e., building in such service outlets as telephone jacks, public address speaker units, Oxygen units, nurse-call systems, and the like. Often, perhaps by necessity, these service outlets are placed apart from each other along a wall, and thus cannot be used conveniently and efliciently. Furthermore, the spacing of such service outlets detracts from the overall appearance of the room, which contributes to low morale of both patients and hopsital staff.

It is an object of this nvention to provide an adapter wall which groups service outlets at a centralized point where they can be easily and conveniently used.

It is a further object of the nvention to provide an adapter wall which improves the overall appearance of the room in which it is installed.

It is a further object of the nvention to provide an adapter wall which is of extremely simple construction, requiring a minimum of components, and which can be installed easily and conveniently on a room wall in a short period of time.

Summary of the nvention Broadly stated, the adapter wall for covering a room wall having service outlets thereon comprises a framework having a pair of horizontal members and a plurality of Vertical members each interconnecting the horizontal members. Means are included for holding the framework on the room wall. Included are a pair of spaced channel members interconnecting a pair of Vertical members. A console is disposed between the channel members and is fixed to the pair of Vertical members. The console contains a plurality of service outlets disposed away from the room wall. Panel means are mounted on the framework, exposing the service outlets contained by the console. Conduit means are included between the wall and panels, connecting the wall service outlets with the service outlets contained by vthe console.

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Brief Description of the drawings These and other objects of the nvention will become apparent from a study of the following description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of the adapter wall shown mounted on a hopsital wall;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the construction of a corner of the adapter wall;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a hanger clip used for mounting the adapter wall to the room wall;

FIG. 4 is a front View of the device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the adapter wall showing construction details;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of a console mounted in the adapter wall;

FIG. 7 is a section taken along the lines 7--7 of FIG. 4.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown generally at 10 an adapter wall. The adapter wall 10 is generally made up of a pair of horizontal members 12 and 14 and a plurality of Vertical members 16, 18, 20, 22, each interconnecting the horizontal members 12, 14. These members are joined by means best shown in FIG. 2. Thereon an end of Vertical member `16 is joined to an end of horizontal member 14 by means of a brace 24 to which the Vertical member 16 and horizontal member bolt. Similar braces 26, 28, 30, 32 and others not shown are used to join other members of the frame (FIG. 5). These members form a framework 34.

The framework 34 is mounted on the wall by means of hanger clips 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, all of which are identical. A hanger clip 36 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is made up of a portion 36A which is mounted fiush against the wall by means of a screw, an intermediate portion 36B extending away from the wall when portion 36A is so mounted, and a portion 36C which extends from the intermediate portion 36B parallel to the wall and spaced from it. The framework 34 hangs from four of these clips 36, 38, 40, 42 by means of a flange 12A on 'the upper horizontal member 12 which seats in the spaces between the wall and the portion 36C of the clip 36, and corresponding portions of clips 38, 40 and 42. A pair of like clips 44, 46 attach to the wall and bear on a fiange 14A to hold the lower horizontal member 14 against the wall.

Interconnecting the Vertical members 18, 20 are channel members 48, 50 which are spaced apart parallel to each other. These channel members 48, 50 are fixed thereto by braces 52, 54, 56, 58, similar to those described pre- Viously. Disposed between the channel members 48, 50 is a console 60. This console, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, contains service outlets for Oxygen, X-ray equipment, nurse-call system, telephone, and the like. The outlets are disposed away from the wall. The console is fixed to the pair of Vertical members 18, 20 at the ends thereof. Conduits 62, 64, 66, 68 connect the wall service outlets with the service outlets contained by the console 60. A similar console 70, containing additional service outlets, may be disposed between Vertical members 18, 20 closer to the floor of the room.

Another pair of spaced channel members 72, 74 are disposed interconnecting members 16 and 18. These channel members 72, 74 are mounted thereto by braces similar to those previously described. A pair of supports 76, 78 each interconnect the channel members 72, 74. A lighting fixture (not shown) is mounted to the supports 76, 78 by means of studs fixed thereto. Conduit 80 connects the electrical wall outlet with an outlet 82 contained between the channel members 72, 74, which in turn connect to the lighting fixture. `A similar structure is disposed between members 20 and Z.

Panels 84 are mounted to the framework 34, with rubber stripping fitted between the panel edges and the framework. These panels 84 contain the conduits between themselves and the wall, insuring a neat appearance. These panels 84, of course, do not cover the lighting fixtures or the service outlets contained by the console 66.

It will be seen (FIG. 1) that the Vertical members 16, 18, 20, 22 extend from the fioor f the room to the ceiling thereof. With the panels 84 in place, the adapter wall 10 gives the appearance of a full room wall, adding to the overall neatness and attractiveness of the room.

It will be seen that the invention described herein provides an adapter wall which mounts on a wall having a number of service outlets thereon and groups these outlets at a centralized point where they can be conveniently used. As described above, the adapter wall may also include means for mounting lighting fixtures. Furthermore, the adapter wall improves the appearance of a room considerably, the feature of extending it from the floor to the ceiling, contributing to this improvement in appearance. The adapter wall is also extremely simple in consrtuction and is easily mounted on the Wall. To a great extent, this is due to the disclosed hanger clips which act to hold the framework against the wall.

Obviously, the invention can be carried out in many different ways, of which the embodiment shown is merely illustrative. Therefore, I do not desire to be limited by the embodiment shown and described, but rather only by the scope of the following clairns.

I claim:

1. An adapter wall for covering a room wall having service outlets thereon, comprising:

(a) a framework having a pair of horizontal members and a plurality of Vertical members, each interconnecting the horizontal members;

(b) means for holding the framework on the room wall;

(c) a pair of spaced channel members interconnecting a pair of Vertical members;

(d) a console disposed between the channel members and fiXed 'to the pair of Vertical members;

(e) a plurality of service outlets disposed in the console away from the room wall;

(f) panel means mounted on the framework and exposing the service outlets contained by the Console; and

(g) conduit means between the room wall and panels connecting the 'wall service outlets with the service outlets contained by the console.

2. An adapter wall according to claim 1 wherein the Vertical members extend from the fioor of the room to the ceiling thereof.

3. An adapter wall according to claim 2 wherein the means for holding the framework on the room wall comprises a plurality of clips mounted on the room wall and on which the framework is hung by the upper horizontal member. i

4. An adapter wall according to claim 3 wherein is further included a plurality of clips mounted on the room wall and bearing on the lower horizontal member to hold 'the lower horizontal member against the room wall.

5. An adapter wall according to claim -1 wherein is included:

(a) a second pair of spaced channel members interconnecting a pair of Vertical members;

(b) a pair of supports each interconnecting the second pair of spaced channel members;

(c) a lighting fixture mounted on the pair of supports, the panel means mounting on the framework being adapted to expose the lighting fixture;

(d) conduit means between the room wall and panels connecting a wall service outlet With the lighting fixture.

6. An adapter wall according to claim 5 wherein the means for holding the framework on the wall comprises a plurality of clips mounted on the room Wall and on which the framework is hung by the upper horizontal member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,084,247 4/1963 Bobrick 240-2 3,200,244 8/1965 Meyer 174-48 JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

Disclaimer 3,462,892.-R0m1ld K. Meyer, San Francisco Calif. ADAPTER WALL. Patent dated Aug. 26, 1969. Disclaimer Electro/Systems, l

ed Sept. 11, 1970, by the assignee, Hereby enbers this disc laimer to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of said patent. [Ofioal Gazette January 26', 1.971] 

